


centyin

by LoveMusicandShip13



Category: Original Work
Genre: Crushing, F/M, Fiction, High School, M/M, OC Story, Random - Freeform, Teenagers, slowburn, teenfiction
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-14
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-01-13 11:27:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 9,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18468013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LoveMusicandShip13/pseuds/LoveMusicandShip13
Summary: We've been stuck to live in a place called "Centyin" our entire lives. Who wouldn't be pissed off?





	1. 1

**Author's Note:**

> Started this story in March. Enjoy?

  
   The five of us stood side by side on the edge of the street. Almost every morning we save this spot for each other. I'm usually the third one here, after my friends Shawn and Daniel. Their houses are close to each other, while mine is down the street with Michael. Allison lived on the other side of our street. She was the last one to join our group, but she kinda felt like she fit after a couple days of hanging out and dealing with all of us somehow.  
After this thought, I checked my watch. She was five minutes late. Daniel leaned against the pole. He didn't put his foot up, probably because the last time he did Michael popped up behind him and made him slide across ice crashing into Shawn and I. It was awkward because our clothes got wet and we kept falling back on ourselves. I noticed him sneak a glance at Michael.  
My fingers loosely tapped themselves against my jeans as I stared down the street. The bus was usually late, so if Allison shows up now it wouldn't be a big deal. Shawn rubbed his hands together. "Hey, August, where's your girlfriend already?" Michael asked. I shot him a glare. "I know as much as you should. She's not my girlfriend." He still snickers.  
Michael was the third tallest one out of all of us, and I was the fourth. He had short brown hair that he combed through twice every day besides when his fingers went through it. Shawn was the second tallest. His hair was dark and went to his chin, when he had a bad hair day he'd hide it in his hood until one of us yanked it off. Daniel was the tallest with dirty blond hair midway to his neck that slowly dried in the morning after he showered. It's usually straight, but sometimes it curled until he ran his hands over it so much. Allison had blonde hair that goes down midway to her back when it's straight and to the bottom of her shoulders when her mom curled it. My hair was light brown that hides my neck when it was straight and curled around my ears if I just showered.  
Shawn was probably looking down the street with me because his wrist nudged mine. When I look back at him he nods at the direction, and I have to focus on something moving until it takes shape. "Could be someone else," I said. "From the way she's walking I don't think so," he replied. I smiled, amused. Sometimes Allison wore heels that were hard to walk in just so she could reach up to everyone else. Daniel catches on beside us, tilting his head to the side from the bus pole.  
"Oh, my god, not the shoes again." He shakes his head and I laugh. The worst time was when she decided to wear a skirt with those things and she fell on Daniel. He looked traumatized when her skirt flew up, but luckily it had a section that covered everything. Nobody could figure out if someone (Michael) shoved her or not because she was equally as flustered. She's at the other side of the street and Shawn moves his hand out and waves. She must've been looking for us because she waved back. "Guys!" Our attention was on her voice.  
"Five bucks she'll fall again." Michael raised an eyebrow. "You are such a hack, Mike," I blew out. Allison reached me first, her hand gripping my shoulder. "I...I brought spare shoes," she admitted, face pink. We all over-exaggerated reactions of shock and relief. She let out a miserable moan. "Only because...uh...the third time." Shawn grinned. "You fell on the stairs, trampled a stranger, and flashed all of us while crashing into the other?" She hid her face in her hands. "I-I'm still ashamed, thanks."  
Her hand tightened before she took it off my shoulder. "The sight wasn't too bad." Her face reddened. Probably not the right thing to say to a girl that didn't want any of that to happen. Shawn patted her on the shoulder, stopping when her foot shifted quickly. We stifled ourselves. "You guys are mean to someone that just wants to look nice," she muttered as she fixed her skirt. "Sorry, Alli, just guys being guys," Daniel excused before subtly hitting Michael and Shawn in the ribs. Michael scowled. "Yeah, guys being guys," he said, hitting Daniel back less subtly. I let out a small "uh-oh." Daniel's eyes narrowed. He punched Michael back before it started increasing. "Seriously? It's barely 5:30," Shawn groaned. "You wanna get in on this?" I asked. He frowned. Their punches got harder and started moving from the ribs until a horn honked. "It's the bus," Allison said over the commotion. Shawn moved between them. We got quiet when the bus slowed to a stop in front of us.

We found our seats in the back. "Alright, no funny business," the driver said over the engine. We all breathed out a "yes, sir" as we passed him. Daniel sat next to Shawn and Michael sat behind them. I sat in the seat across the pair, and Allison followed. Michael raised an eyebrow, and I gave him the finger. 

 


	2. 2

I almost fell asleep on the bus until we made it to the next stop. We're the first, so we have to watch everyone get on after us and then make our way to school. A small group of the second stop moved zombie-like before sitting down a few seats ahead of us. Shawn and Daniel were talking among themselves and Michael was on his phone. He must've gotten ungrounded this weekend. Allison pulled a binder out of her backpack. "You are not doing schoolwork on the bus at 5:50," I tiredly let out. She hummed.  
"How about at 6:00?" She flashed me a small grin when I looked over. I huffed, as she is relentless. She kept the binder in her lap and leaned back with her back straight. I could hardly make this out since it was still dark and the driver didn't turn on the bus lights. She sighed. "I missed you guys," she started. I opened my eyes to her apologetic face. "It's cool. We didn't do much." She nodded. "And I think your mom was tired of getting shit reports from us," I mentioned.  
She scoffed at this. "My mother doesn't like girls growing out of their ankle high dress into their knee high skirts." I pulled my lips back into my mouth for a moment. I looked over at the shapes of the other kids. Michael fell asleep, his phone buried in his pocket. I tried to make out Daniel's(?) face as his head turned back at me. I took my phone out and made it obvious I took a picture. "You can't see shit August!" He stated, but I laughed anyway. "That's because you look like shit." Shawn chortled this time.  
Allison turned to us. "Hey, did you guys do your homework?" Silence swept over us. "Crap." We said in unison. She sighed and took out a paper. "At least I did half of it." The bus stopped again. Kids walked down the aisle while Allison took a picture with the flash on. She sent it to our main group chat. "What ever would we do without you?" Shawn asked. "Waste away," Allison answered. I could guess they were smiling playfully. We were halfway to school. It usually took four stops with little traffic. I started to doze off again. Dull lights were outside for stores as we passed by but that was the most source of light besides the screens of phones.

We drove into our school's entry behind other buses. Some kids started waking up. I got woken by getting a slap on the thigh and I yelped. I glared up at an amused Daniel. We all started getting up and moving to the exit. I turned around at a shuffle. "Oh my god, we almost left Michael!" Allison moved against us until she was at his seat. She made an uncomfortable nose before shoving him with her hands. "Fuck!" Was the first thing out of his mouth before Allison reluctantly caught him after he almost fell out of the seat. We laughed at him.  
We all got out of the bus and walked to the school entry. Allison took longer unless she latched on to one of us. The entry was the side of the cafeteria, and when we got in a burst of heat surrounded us. I looked around, seeing the tables already crowded. "It's always too hot or too cold, never in-between," Allison muttered as she slid off her jacket. "Like some people," Daniel said. Allison tilted her head, pondering silently.

"Hey, is that Layla?" Shawn stared across the room. "You didn't forget she'd still be here, did you?" I asked, causing a small grumble from him. "You weren't looking for her the whole time?" He swapped at my head and I swore under my breath. Unfortunately, before any of us could say anything Allison zipped past all of us and headed straight to her. "She didn't," Daniel's eyebrows rose. "Oh-ho, shit is going down!" Michael grinned, witnessing all that happened.  
We watched as Allison dove carelessly into a hug, stumbling into Layla's arms. The girl almost picked her up from the ground. She listened while Allison ranted animatedly as she waved her hands around, smiling patiently. It started falling as her motions got slower and less random. Allison had a way of getting almost everything across in a few sentences or absolutely nothing in a few minutes. It didn't end there though. Layla went to hug Allison this time but she readjusted her feet. Yeah, those heels are going to cause mayhem once again. By the end of it Allison's expression changed about five times and Layla's three.  
She turned around, surprising us, and went back to us slowly. "Alli..." I warned in a tone. She sighed. "Honestly, Shay? You can do better." Scratch before, now we're really surprised. "Holy shit," Michael's lips slowly formed that grin again. "You...she...uh?" Shawn looked as lost as the four of us probably did. "I'm sorry I know that sounds mean but it's also not because you're my friend and you were sad even if she's my friend and she was kinda sad but it wasn't good-" She's back to rambling. He moved his hands up in front of him in a 'stop'. "Not good, but not bad either," Shawn tried. Allison gave a small smile. I couldn't help laughing. "I haven't heard that one before! Allison for her d-bag friends versus girl squad!" Shawn hit me again.


	3. 3

We were only in the cafeteria for as long as it took for Michael and I to get breakfast. I didn't usually have an appetite, but my friends insisted that eating in the morning became a habit for me when they decided my "bitch ass behavior" was because I was hungry. I replied that their "dramatic douche attitude" was because hardly anyone in the group has the sweet opportunity of actually getting a society's standard of good night's sleep, besides Michael, of course. He didn't have a care in the world unless it involved himself.  
Daniel had a tendency to stay up later to make sure all his work for the day was completed or his weekly projects were slowly finishing up. Shawn would stay up to listen to music or text any of us. Allison...I wasn't entirely sure about her home life situation. Some mornings she would complain that her dog kept her awake from barking at nothing, but besides that she was similar to Daniel's routine. My restless nights consisted of either watching distracting videos or thinking about who to talk to in the later hours.  
Michael had gotten a breakfast sandwich while I swiped up a pack of pop-tarts. We put in our code at the register and turned to the three waiting just a couple feet away. Allison slid off her backpack and rummaged through it until she found what she was looking for. In her hand was a water bottle that she offered to me silently. I rose an eyebrow. "Remember to stay hydrated," she reminded with her smile turned almost proudly. "Same goes to you," I retorted before taking a few drinks.  
This had been going on for a while; her unwavering determination to make sure that at least something was healthy in our daily lives, whether it was remembering to eat or drink enough, to getting proper sleep, and to taking short walks. At this point we just couldn't stop her concern, instead going with it to decrease those worries as she witnessed. I passed the bottle back to her, and she stared for a few seconds before her face processed a blush. "Gotta watch out for the thirstiest ho's though," Michael snickered. Daniel was about to swing his arm up to hit him in the back of his head before I grabbed it, making him jolt.  
Allison cleared her throat, hesitantly taking a sip as she turned to watch the scenes of the cafeteria. Layla had left long since then with the group of friends that accompanied her every day. I slide out the other pop-tart and tapped it on her hand. If she made me drink her water she's eating a pop-tart, I had accidentally muttered this out loud, but she laughed. I think her favorite flavor was also strawberry. Students went in and out of the cafeteria similar to clockwork, each table slowly being replaced with various groups. Including our group, despite Michael being halfway done with the sandwich and Allison nimbly chewing a corner of the frosted snack.  
We were by the entry, on the opposite side of where we came through by the bus area, which is where you can exit for dismissal to get to said bus. Daniel cleared his throat. "I'm gonna go to the library before class starts," he explained. Shawn looked up from his phone.  
"No way, dude! It's too creepy in there," I whined. Allison scoffed.  
"What's creepy about a library?" She asked.  
"More like what isn't creepy. It's always cold in there, even in the second semester, and it's quiet enough to hear everything. I'm not going back there." My face scrunched grimly.  
"You just don't wanna go in there because people can hear you moaning." I swung back to Michael, his smirk growing at my reaction.  
"Only one they would hear is you if you wanna go so bad," my voice smooth and my eyebrows shot up and down. The smirk fell to a scowl. Allison's face was red by this point. Daniel sighed, done with my charms already so early in the day. How disappointing. "I'll go with you," Shawn offered at his side. They shared a smile; Daniel's relieved and Shawn's nervous. Neither of us liked the library, but I guess he decided we weren't going to be quiet if we were all together. We all argued for a minute until Daniel simply turned around and started walking away from our protests, Shawn going to his side and flashing us a playful grin.  
"Guess it's just the three of us this morning?" Allison asked, already knowing the answer. Great. I stuck my tongue out at her.


	4. 4

I put my hands in the pocket of my hoodie and walked between Michael and Allison. That was kind of my role in the group: the man in the middle, literally and figuratively. If there was an argument, I'd calm down the sides. If there was an awkwardness, my personality was great enough for everyone to get along fine to get onto me about it. I was used to it, though it didn't have too much of an effect on this great personality. Sure, I can be serious and wise mixed in with the madness I could throw in, but I wasn't some kind of mom of the group. I wasn't the stupid one, or the super smart one, my role put me perfectly in the middle.   
I froze in my steps through the hallway, making Allison stumble in those shoes to look at me curiously. "Oh, my god." I whispered. Realization dawned on me. "I'm not the mom of the group." Allison's face twisted in confusion. Michael looked like he, too, was done with my nonsense. But he couldn't be- this was a revelation for me in my deep thoughts just now! "Of course you're not the mom of the group, dick. That's what you are and what you have," Michael seemed pleased at this. He's so original.   
"Allison's the mom, she has the-" Allison shrieked before he could finish. He repeated himself until she shrieked again. His eyes narrowed. They were in a stare off until Allison's feet had to readjust, and he looked amused again. It wasn't a smart move to piss off Michael, everyone knew that. Although his "circle" that consisted of us didn't let that stop the majority of us from saying whatever came to mind.   
This rarely went for Allison too. It was like she had the mindset of Michael and I for some arguments involving him. It wouldn't make sense until you witnessed it. He tends to think with his fists unless it struck a nerve deep enough for him to calculate a full-proof plan to get back at whoever was on his list. Allison was calculated because she was careful, and in most crowds she had the same mediator role that I had, so she could use either one and her natural intelligence to get what she wanted. I, surprisingly, learned that the hard way.   
It was last semester, and she overheard an argument between Daniel and I. It wasn't a serious fight; we were joking about the environment around us and it transitioned into some kind of debate about society. I didn't really care about it, I was about as aware as everyone else was, but Daniel had a flickering flame of passion about it. Plus I just tend to enjoy seeing him get heated up when he is in his terms of a fight. It got serious when Allison's eyes were suddenly on me, standing over the two of us with something in them that I had seen a few times, but directed towards other people before now. The conflict in her brown eyes was enough for me to slowly stop talking. She hadn't said anything for a moment.   
Daniel seemed to sense that one of us fucked up, so he had silenced as quickly as I did. When he noticed the shift of her eyes to me, he flashed an anxious smirk. The temperature barely warmed around us. And then she went off, like a firecracker. I had never seen this side of her- none of us did. Her voice was sharp, speeding up as she went farther into depth about her views and the reality of it.   
It felt like forever, but when a few words that slipped out of her glossed lips were growing harsher, my mind was swarming of them. Her face grew into a red before she finished, slowly paling until her cheeks were stained rosy. She swiftly turned around, not stopping at either of our voices as she left the room. I didn't hear from her for a few hours, which was a bit odd despite it being a weekend. Reluctantly, I texted her later in the night. I was shocked when my screen flashed brightly in my dark room, seeing that she was calling me. I won't go further about that night.   
Back to the present, she looked at me again. We continued walking. "What was that about anyway? "Mom" of the group?" She asked. It was moments like these I wondered how little she knew of the internet terms.   
"Not literally," I started, "I'm not that dumb." Her brows furrowed but she smiled.   
"The mom is just someone who's that one friend that they can talk to, complain to and share their secrets without having to worry about them sharing your business. They're great at giving advice and being the shoulder that you cry on." Allison put a finger to her bottom lip. "Isn't that supposed to be every friend?"  
"Not all friends are that deep." I shrugged. She huffed. I looked over to Michael. He never was, and never will be, anything of the sort. Maybe he was the baby of the group. I don't have too much against babies, but with this one in particular, they just whine and throw tantrums for attention. He clicked his tongue, and my eyes shifted to a group of girls across the hallway. He slid his hands down the sides of his open jacket.   
"Who is Thighs over there?" He asked. I tried to refrain slapping my hand against my face, but the attempt was in vain after he whistled. Thank God the blonde next to me didn't hear him. Still, I followed his intrigued stare. "Uh...Sophie." I answered. He nodded, and walked with us again as if those couple minutes hadn't occurred.


	5. 5

I pulled out my phone when we circled the entire school, still having around ten minutes until we had to change our direction to class. The picture on my lock screen flashed before I clicked the small button to make the screen black, sliding it in my pocket. Michael was grumbling about the long walk, and I could feel Allison look at the two of us while he did but said nothing. We were back at the cafeteria entrance until our footsteps continued forward. I was going to the library, despite my previous objections, because I could only deal with Michael by myself for so long. When he wasn't creeping on girls and having me follow, I would be keeping Allison's attention from it. She caught on halfway into it, only reacting silently with a warning glare at his back.  
I tried to catch a glimpse through the windows to see if I could spot the familiar faces. They were near the back, so it took a moment while the distance between all of us was shrinking. Daniel was sitting in front of a school computer, with Shawn sitting beside him on a pulled up chair. They blended in, besides the laughter I imagined hearing in my ears as they tried to contain themselves. I opened the door to the almost packed room, letting Allison slip in silently before me and Michael following. I rolled my eyes but made my way through group tables until I reached the couple.  
Shawn was the first to acknowledge me, since Daniel's eyes were now focused on the screen in front of him. He shot me a quick smile though before turning back. I cleared my throat. "Daniel." His hand didn't leave the mouse, raising an eyebrow at the greeting.   
"Daniel," I said with a heavier tone. He turned his whole body to look up at me.   
"Dude, what's up?" His eyebrows furrowed as he tried to understand my expression and the reason behind it. I took a deep breath.   
Putting my hand on his shoulder, I sighed. "I...am not the mother."  
Shawn's face looked like the one he made when he was in math class: pure confusion. Daniel's face twisted to the one he makes when he hasn't had enough sleep and he's sick of everyone. Specifically me.  
"You can't be a mother." He answered, with his matter-of-fact tone. He uses that one often.  
"But Michael said it's Allison! She can't be a mother either!" I cried in distress. Shawn bit his lip. "Technically..." He started, voice hesitant, but I cut him off. "Technically and literally she's capable- we made do with that! The problem is the group Mom! Who am I? Who is she? I have questions!" I sobbed, falling on the floor besides their knees. Daniel took a deep breath through his nose. Allison timidly came up to us at this point.   
"August says it's the friend that is supportive and takes care of their friends," she offered. I put my head on Daniel's knee and nodded.  
Shawn awkwardly patted my head. "Uh...who would you want it to be? If not the actual girl of the group." I sniffled.  
"Daniel is my mom."   
The group fell to a silence. "Excuse me?" His tone went high, and I quickly stood up before his knee shook me. I pointed at him, and he looked at my accusing finger before staring up at me in frustration. "I have a crisis, you tell me what to do. Allison cries, you make us all hug. Shawn has girl problems, you tell him to fuck off. Besides that last one you're a mother to us all! And we're stuck as your helpless children!" My hands went to my stressed face. Daniel pulled his lips in for a thin line. Shawn pondered this, his hand under his chin slowly sliding across his jaw. "It...makes sense? In an abstract way?" Shawn admitted.   
Daniel turned to him with a horrified face. "No, no, you are not getting behind this."   
Allison walked over to me, cautiously, using my shoulder to keep her balance again. She looked slightly concerned, but her eyes were warm at all of us. She giggled nervously. "So...if we're all his kids, that means Dani's a single mother?" Now this started turning gears in my mind once more. Daniel noticed this. "Stop this! I came here to get some work done, not listen to this ridiculous play pretend!" Shawn laughed. He moved his hand to pat Daniel's forearm.   
Michael, who somehow disappeared during my accusation, reappeared across from Allison. "Shut the fuck up before we get kicked out. Again." He looked at me as he said this. I pouted. I wasn't the only one out of the five of us to get us kicked out of places, but I had the longer list. Considering this, I sighed with disappointment through my lips.   
I bent down to Daniel's ear. "I'll let you get back to work, mum." He glared, hitting me in the back of my head. I yelped, falling against him at the impact. Shawn pulled me back before I made my whole body collapse against him entirely. Allison had to move her hands to the back of Shawn's chair before I made the comment, and she lightly patted his shoulder until I moved backwards, then rubbing Daniel's shoulder. She bit her lip, trying to keep her smile contained.   
"You'd make a good mom." She yanked her hand back with a childish shriek as Daniel's arm moved just as fast, almost grabbing her. She burst into giggles. "Right back at you." Shawn shook his head as Daniel rolled his eyes.


	6. 6

Unfortunately, we were pulled to the side by the librarian's assistant. She ended up talking to us longer than normal thanks to Allison's steady politeness. I had to keep Michael quiet though, since he especially didn't like being told off by anyone, trying to distract him with some girls at a table nearby. They looked like the ones from Layla's group. Allison finally managed to say goodbye before I got a good look, trying to drag me out and support herself with me at the same time. I'm sure our own group was quite the sight.  
"If that bitch comes up and tries talking to me one more time..." Michael started in a threatening tone. My lips smacked on instinct. "You know she'd just report it straight to the top." This didn't shut him up. Allison sighed, readjusting her backpack over her shoulder slowly. I turned to her questioningly just for her to give me a sheepish smile. We were outside of the doorway to the library now.   
I stared longingly through the windows, hoping my revealed brother would sense me. As if feeling my stare, Shawn turned around to look for us. This made me grin. I raised my arm up high and waved proudly. He looked like he was trying not to smile, turning back to Daniel to tell him. Seeing Daniel's shoulders raise and fall in exasperation had me grin at the sight once more before I walked away from the windows, just now noticing the eyes I had attracted. Realizing that I made a face too quickly at those watching, I ducked my head before running to Allison.   
During my moment with the window, she was in yet another conversation. As I walked over to the two, the other person's form I recognized with each step.   
First step, blond hair. Second step, almost taller than Allison. Third step, a guy. Fourth step, creamy skin. Fifth step, blue eyes. Shit. He's looking at me now. I can't turn around. Sixth step, chapped lips pulled into an almost permanent smile. Do I smile back? Of course I do. Seventh step, his blue long sleeve covered arm is reaching out to me. Eighth step, his small hands have a silver ring on a thin finger. Ninth step, he smells like mint and pencils. Tenth step and I'm done counting.   
He looked shy until I grabbed him into a sure hug. "Ollie!" I laughed. His thin arms covered my waist and mine his back. I felt his cheek against my neck for a second until I pulled away. "A-August! How was your break?" He immediately asked. Leave it to Oliver to be as polite as Allison, if not more. "It was hella boring. I had to look for another job and look out for my sister. Between that and dealing with my squad of course." I sighed with anguish, until he looked concerned.   
"O-oh, gee, I'm sorry to hear that. It's good you got to hang out with e-everyone though!" I tapped my finger on my chin.   
"How about you, kid? Your break any good?" His eyebrows furrowed in thought before pouting at the "kid". Allison put a loose piece of hair behind her ear, letting it slowly fall back.  
"Y-yeah, sure. Sure it was good. I got to see some family." He bit his lip. "And my job as the paper boy is definitely something else. I-it has its perks though." I smiled.   
"Like what?" At this, for some reason, his cheeks barely dusted with pink across them.  
"O-oh...j-just...seeing different places...using diff-different routes. I like going past the park a-and my friend's houses." The pink darkened before slowly returning to the natural white. I rose an eyebrow, nodding thoughtfully. I'll ask him about it later. I like walking when I know where I'm going, and it sounds he could improvise.   
"I like the park too! I try to take my dog there when the weather is nice." Allison readjusted her backpack again and smiled. Oliver turned to her then, giving the same smile. "I-is it a small dog?" He asked. She grinned and nodded quickly. "Yeah, she is! How'd you know?"  
He looked embarrassed again. "J-just a lucky guess...a-and I didn't think you liked big dogs."   
Allison's dog was slightly bigger than her lap, and I only knew this because she sent the group chat pictures when she updated us on what was going on. Most of the time it came out blurry because that thing moved so fast when it wasn't sleeping. She didn't even know what breed it was because she found it on the side of the road and took care of it. A couple weeks passed and she said it looked healthier, but it kept coming back to her house. Her mom noticed and reluctantly kept it. It's been about a year since Allison first found it. I remember she called Shawn and begged him to let her borrow some dog food for a few days until her cousin gave her money to start getting food for it.   
Oliver looked back at me. "D-do you have any pets, August?" I shook my head.   
"I just feed animals that swing by. I had a dog for a week before I gave it back to its owner. I think I have a video..." I muttered the last part as I took out my phone. I unlocked it and clicked on the photos app, scrolling until I found the album. "You have an album j-just for animals?" Oliver asked. I nodded while I continued scrolling. "Hell yeah I do. I take pictures of all kinds of stuff and I was sick of everything getting jumbled."   
"O-oh! I-I'm the same way!" I could hear his smile. Finally finding the video, I clicked on it and stood closer beside Oliver to show him the screen in my hand. His eyes stayed focused as there was movement, his face softening even more as a dog was on the screen, and then I was in the frame trying to get its attention while petting it and holding it close. The video was almost a minute long but his attention stayed until it finished with the dog trying to stand on my lap and lick my face. His face lifted up to look at mine as I slid my phone in my pocket.   
"Y-you sure have a way with animals, huh?" His grin almost looked hopeful. I shrugged.   
"I did when I was a kid. Now they're either stowaways or picking fights." Allison giggled. She pulled out her phone and shyly placed it in front of me to hold between Oliver and I.  
"That's Caramel," she clarified as she tapped on the screen to the dog.   
"It looks like a mutt." I said. She hit my arm.


	7. 7

Allison put her phone away after showing us a few more pictures of her dog Caramel. "Do you have a dog, Oliver?" She asked, making him look up in surprise.   
"Oh, n-no! My aunt is allergic," he explained. "I-I do have a...a hamster." Allison's eyes widened. She loves animals too much. Especially smaller ones that you can hold. He bit his lip, hesitantly taking his phone out and showing the lock screen. Allison's eyes flashed to the picture before looking back at it again. "Who's that?" She asked, tapping the corner with her nail. Oliver looked confused until he checked. His cheeks were pink again. Curious, I slid my hand over his quickly to grab the phone. "Hey!" He yelped in protest, but I managed to click the power button until giving it back to him. He stared at me, almost panicked. I grinned. "Aw, man. That picture is like two years old."   
Allison's eyebrows furrowed. "How do you know that?"   
"Because even after a much needed glow up I still recognize myself."  
It seemed like she was processing this until an imaginary light-bulb appeared above her head. "Ohh! That was you? That's crazy, you knew each other that long?" She asked. I smirked, lifting my arm to hook over Oliver's shoulders. "Well, actually, I've known Ollie since...middle school." He finally looked at me and we shared a smile; his lips curled up shyly and mine fondly. Back then, we almost hung out as much as I hung out with Shawn, Daniel, and Michael. Not really at the same time, but there were days. Then the new year started and suddenly Allison appeared. Looking back, I wonder how the change was for everyone. Specifically, to the boy I just had my arm around.   
"M-maybe before then too, since most of us went to elementary to-together." Oliver suggested. I hummed. I remembered a handful of people that I went to elementary with, and a couple more handfuls from middle school. Allison sighed. "I only remember a few random people, some faces, but..." She trailed off with a shrug. Allison usually got pretty upset when we brought up something that reminded her of the life she had before moving here, so we just know bits and pieces.   
"W-well...a-at least you have people that c-care about you now, r-right?" Oliver always tried to see the positive in things, especially with the good in people. It was refreshing, hearing his perspective of it. Sometimes it was only the little things that he tried to comfort with that would be effective for my case. Of course, Allison seemed to appreciate his thought about it. "And I have people that I care about now." She gave a smile to the two of us. 

Suddenly, I felt a hand on my rib. I yelped and turned around to glare at the culprit. Daniel; the traitor. He fooled me into believing that he was a good mother, but now I realized he left me to fend for myself and the other children. At this point, I was once more deceived into thinking I could trust him with my weakness, only to be betrayed as he used it against me.   
Apparently, I had said all of this out loud, like some dramatic miniature monologue, because Oliver looked confused as hell and Allison was covering her face. The single that abandoned me was a mix between smug for using said weakness and annoyed that I was still on my bullshit about the importance of family. Ah, maybe I was a hypocrite. Anyway, moving on. Allison was laughing through her hands. Daniel tried to reach for my side again but I jumped behind Oliver, who was now startled.   
"A-August, are you still ticklish?" He asked, his breath against my cheek as he tilted his head to glance behind himself at me. "Pfft, what? I have never been ticklish to begin with. He just caught me off guard. Last time he did was when he left the house saying he was gonna grab some milk from the grocery store, but never came back." I glared at Daniel accusingly. He groaned, sliding a hand down his face. Shawn was next to him, and he waved to Oliver. He waved back enthusiastically. Allison gingerly walked the few steps over so she was behind the space between Oliver and Daniel to have a clear view.   
"Daniel's done with his daily checkup, so we can walk to class," Shawn spoke. Allison nodded. I had my eyes on the said traitor.   
"Surrender yourself." I took my arm out over Oliver's shoulder and bent my fingers to make a simple handgun. He narrowed his eyes. "Don't bring a gun to a hand fight." I gasped.   
The standoff lasted another moment until I let my arm fall back into place. I'll have to save my bullets for another time. He put his hands up, slowly shrinking the distance between us until he was a couple of feet from Oliver and I behind him. I moved my lips to the side, but stepped away from the safety of another body. Daniel stood in front of me. His hands lowered back in place, only keeping one out to shake my hand for a truce.   
I couldn't just leave him hanging. I rose my hand to reach his until it happened. I tried to run away, but Daniel's hand had shifted from reaching my extended hand to getting my ribs a second time. His other hand holding my side in place no matter how hard I squirmed. I was trapped. A disgusting girlish squeal escaped my lips as his fingers dug into my side or wiggled themselves up and down. "M-mercyyy!" I cried out, struggling to breathe.  
Immediately, I was now alone with my own body released from the grip of death. I turned around to see Daniel's smug expression returning. I have to get back from this. But how?


	8. 8

The question of how to get justice was one of the only things on my mind. This went unnoticed by everyone else, surprisingly. Oliver quietly went to my side, a reassuring smile across his lips while his eyes had a spark of amusement. His eyes brightened a bit when he was around good moments for other people. I tried to remember the last time his eyes were so bright, a kind of blue that made you think of the sky on a warm day.   
You would think that we looked alike, because of the height range and blue eyes, but no. He was a couple of inches shorter, barely taller than Allison. His hair was shorter than mine, and probably cleaner since I had more forgetful days to take care of myself, and lighter too. Lighter than Allison's. I sound like I'm comparing them to each other like it means something, but the reality is that they're the only people I seriously talk to in and out of the few people I already do. If you didn't know either of them, and you were across the hallway with your eyes squinted, you would think they were related. I'm getting off topic. Whatever topic there was being discussed before, anyway.  
I grabbed his hand and started walking away from the rest of my friends. "H-huh?" He stuttered out, his voice tinged with panic at the sudden change of movement. I made a "tsk" noise as a quick response. "Where are you taking him?" Shawn called out. I turned my head back only to open my mouth and show my tongue. Oliver's hand was stiff until we were a few feet away, and I barely caught his fingers relaxing against mine before I let go.   
"Did your schedule change at all this year?" The question left my lips without much thought. He blinked at me for a second. He tried to keep his hands steady as he pulled his backpack off of his shoulders and took out a bright blue binder. He dropped the carrier on between our feet as he tried to balance going through the pages and holding it at the same time. My own hands went to support the back of it.   
Our fingers brushed and he jumped at the unknown contact before finding a paper he was looking for. He pulled it out and unfolded it, switching with me the paper for the binder. I stared at the room numbers and names I didn't recognize. "Oh, awesome. We have some classes near each other." I picked up his backpack from the floor before he did, holding it up as he slid the binder back in its place. "R-really?" His voice was soft. I nodded with a grin.   
"Not sure if we have any classes at all together, but the room numbers are near mine. Plus we could have lunch." I shrugged. Oliver looked like he was considering this. He beamed up at me. I didn't give him back his schedule that was still in my hand. "Okay!" He agreed. I laughed at the excitement. His eyebrows furrowed when I started to move again.  
"Let's start off with walking you to class." I barely skimmed the paper but my eyes went back up in time to see his lips turn into a sweet smile. I wasn't planning any of this. Seeing Oliver on the first day back so early in the morning was a surprise. I guess I just had the urge to reconnect after the distance from everyone else. My crew should be fine if Michael keeps his lips shut and Shawn doesn't get involved with girls. Maybe Allison and Daniel could prevent a few things, or completely blow it up sky high, but I'll hear about it later if such a thing were to happen. Which it did, sometimes quite often.   
Everyone started to move around us like they were shot back into life as the clock turned seven. I had to maneuver through them with Oliver right behind me. We reached the stairs and went up quietly while chatter around us was loud. Now on the second floor, I turned to walk through the hallways and try to find nearby numbers that matched either his or my homeroom. Subconsciously I was muttering the numbers on the doorways as we passed them. Someone shoved past Oliver, and he stumbled against me slightly. Teenagers are assholes.   
I lead us into the neighboring hallway and my memory took us near the back. "I-is it always cold back here?" Oliver asked, rubbing his hand over his arm. I nodded. "Front is always too hot, back is always too cold. Never in-between...like the weather around here."


	9. 9

We finally found Oliver's homeroom class, which wasn't at the far back that I thought it was. It was in the corner, next to the window that covered the wall at the end of the hallway. I looked out the window, seeing the sky starting to gain brighter colors as the morning continued. "Th-thanks for walking me," Oliver said softly, bringing my attention back to him. "Anytime, Olli." We shared a smile before I turned around to go through the hallways alone.  
"A-August?" He squeaked out as if it took more effort to say my name. I stopped and turned back. "D-do you m-mean that?" He bit his lip. The corner of my lips pulled up, and his nervous face relaxed. "I mean almost everything I say, especially in your case." I walked out of the hallway and turned the corner.  
_"I'm fine."_  
 _"It's okay."_  
 _"I'm used to it."_  
 _"It's better than it seems."_  
Almost everything.  
Earlier this morning before I walked out of my house, the group chat was spamming my phone with messages involving everyone's personal schedules. I looked at the pictures of the papers as I made my way to the bus stop, finding that we somehow all had a class together this semester. It was one class: Spanish. A few years ago the school also had French and Latin, but Latin was canceled before we were even registered in. I had French for a year, and maybe Daniel. I have three periods with Shawn, two with Daniel, two with Michael, and one with Allison.  
I made my way to my first class: math. I found it after a few minutes of squeezing my way through crowds again. It was in a different section of the school than last year's class was, so the place was pretty unfamiliar. As I made my way towards the room, I tried to look through the window to get a preview. Luckily, I found Shawn in the back of the class, where he always tries to sit. He was on his phone.  
I slid mine out and took a picture of him, sending it to his number. This made him look out the window with a tense expression until I waved when his eyes landed on me. I walked through the doorway quietly, annoyed that pairs of eyes immediately went to stare at me. "Hey, babe." Shawn's eyes widened. The eyes slipped to where my eyes were set on the dark-haired boy. He cleared his throat. I made my way to sit next to him, leaning my head on his shoulder and blinking up at him slowly.  
"We-we're not together. Like that. I like girls." A couple of girls giggled at this, and his cheeks slightly went pink. He slid his chair away from me. I whined at this. "Come back." He glared at me, crossing his arms on the desk.  
"I'm sorry," I tried to say with a serious tone, but when Shawn looks at me with a conflicted face my face slowly breaks into a grin. I poked his arm. He ignored me. I poked his side. He hit my hand away. I grabbed the bottom of his chair and pulled him back to me. He groaned. He finally looks at me and my almost wavering grin. His lips started to form a smile, and I felt hopeful.  
Until he pulled a Daniel on me. And by that, I mean a betrayal. I guess kids really are more influenced by their parents. I bent myself backward, trying to avoid his hands when he moved to tickle me. "Shawn, no, you're better than this!" I yelped when his hand dug into my side. I tried to stifle my laughter under my hands, half of my body draped off the side of the chair. He laughed at this.  
"Oh, man. You always go the extra mile to get away, but we're faster." At the last part, he wiggled his fingers at me. I huffed, sticking my tongue out angrily. When his fingers moved closer at that I pulled it back in and hooked my arm over the back of the seat. My face felt hot from the movement and forced laughter, and it didn't cool down when he continued to chuckle. I waited until it died down to reluctantly pull myself back up, making him take my hand and yank me. A gasp caught in my throat and I started coughing.  
"What a gentleman," I choked out sarcastically. He patted my shoulder. "Should be the right type to go for, anyway," he rolled his eyes. I regained my casual composure.  
"The ladies don't know what they're missing," I said. He agreed with a nod. One lady, at the moment. The only girl we all knew Shawn has liked more than once. It felt like this thought was silently shared between us. He was popular for that, and I was popular for similar/not so similar things. He was with one girl and I was with a few. Not at the same time. We both had our reputations, ones we preferred to do without most of the time.  
His phone was out again, and I knew I didn't have to worry about another attack. My eyes wandered around the room. There were a few basic posters for the subject, and little inspirational posters hung around the walls. The white board was no longer white from all the dried out writings made with the expo markers. The clock hung above the window beside the door. The teacher's desk was covered in papers and personal trinkets. There was a lamp, a laptop, a picture frame, a stamp, and a flat box to put in more papers.  
I didn't really recognize the people around me, only from times I've seen them in the hallways or at lunches. But I had Shawn, so it didn't matter. Unless the teacher separated us from our old fashioned shenanigans. He wasn't the best at math, so he mostly got his help from Daniel. I would join in on a few of their study sessions. A few times it would only be Shawn and me to review lessons.


	10. Daniel

When August ran off with Oliver, it reminded me of the previous years. They were close back then, but not as close as him, Shawn, Michael, and I. Oliver was kind of the odd one out when it wasn't August. He was like the extra tire for an old but determined van that was the four of us. We all got along alright together, besides Michael and Oliver, but that was only one-sided.  
The only time Oliver was really included - except when August would drag him with us - was when August was away for the last semester of freshmen year and the entire summer. It was crazy, and yet we needed someone to fill the gap that we didn't realize was so heavy until he left without a word. It was the year we got to know Oliver properly when we weren't distracted with ourselves or August was there to accompany him. He was on his own, and so were we, so reluctantly we sort of gravitated towards each other like the gap had been placed to substitute for something else.   
When we were all finally reunited the first week of sophomore year, it was like he never left. I think Oliver noticed this before any of us would, and he showed himself out. Looking back on it, it was a shitty thing to do. We do a lot of things we end up regretting.   
I remember we all asked August where he went that entire time. The first time we were all reunited and telling each other stories, and when we got to ask him he was oddly quiet. And then he would spew out the weirdest stories; he went camping and almost fell off a cliff, he went to the beach and saw dolphins, he learned different foods where he traveled and made them himself, he went to festivals, whatever you could think of to do over the summer. It was almost unrealistic.   
And then when we were in our own moments with him, it would change. He told Shawn that he wrote music and painted. He told Michael he hooked up with girls. He told me he volunteered and read all kinds of books. When a few of our shared friends asked, he would spew random things again as if he were listing them from memory.  
It wasn't until a couple of weeks later that we were alone that this occurred to me. I asked him about it while we were in my room. It was the first time he had been in my room for almost seven months. He was sitting on my bed, and he laughed. "Oh, man. I did a lot of shit in all that time. Why do you seem so put off by it?" He had his legs crossed, leaning back slightly with his hands on his knees. I was sitting in the wheeled chair in front of my desk so I was a few feet away from him.   
I shrugged. "You don't usually do so much, even in that much time. It just doesn't sound like you." His careless grin almost fell from his face after a moment. He looked like he was trying to keep on a glued smile that was losing its stick.   
"Maybe I didn't want to be me," he replied. It was at this point I caught the spark in his blue eyes was only glazed over, and now they were dim. My eyebrows furrowed. "That doesn't make sense. You're stuck as you this entire lifetime, there's no one else to switch with." He relaxed his back, moving his arms to fold over his legs. When he looked at me, it was like I was seeing the boy from middle school. The room suddenly felt heavier around me, slowly seeping to my body.   
"I know, Daniel." Our gaze between each other lasted longer than what would feel comfortable to a normal person. His hands started tugging at the torn fabric around his knees. I slowly stood up when our stare broke. I walked across my room and sat on the edge of my bed. He sighed and fell into my bed with his face against my pillow. August took a deep breath. "You're so logical and intelligent. You understand how things work. Things...not people."   
This made me tense. I had to spend years trying to understand that, and I couldn't really accept it. I understood the school, I understood work, I understood reasoning and methods and thinking analytically. But I didn't understand the things that seemed to bring all of that together: humans themselves. With every problem, it had a solution, like in math and science, but people made their lives more complicated finding different decisions and having different outcomes. Work problems were final, people were always changing.  
I bit my lip. "Help me then." He turned his head to look back at me in confusion. Usually, I was the one helping my friends, besides their relationships. "Help me understand," I clarified. He turned his head back to the wall, gulping. He slowly brought himself back up, shifting his body to face me.   
"I didn't really leave with a choice. The only one was to stay here without anyone for support or put up with my family's bullshit. I was dragged across half the country with my mom looking for her family to spend time with and my dad going between finding drinking buddies to fighting with her. My sister was the only reason I went, she would never abandon her family, and it's pretty fucking sad when you think that she's stuck with a failure of a dad and a mistake of a brother. So I tried giving her what they couldn't. I learned to play guitar and sang for her, I found books and read to her, I looked for easy recipes and cooked for her. I wasn't her brother, I was a goddamn parent her real ones were too unstable to provide."   
The bitterness in his voice when he talked about his life and his family was clear even when he would mention them, but the pure love he felt for his sister and the things he did for her softened it, and it was miserable just hearing it. I didn't know what to say. I didn't know if there was anything I could say. August probably had the toughest take on life out of all of us. We all had our own weights to carry, but I don't know who else could handle his.   
I wanted to be a good friend. I wanted to support him and care for him. I wanted him to know how I felt. But I was silent. He glanced up, whether it was to wait for a reaction or he was starting to feel my stare.   
We shared that not too short gaze again, and I hesitantly moved my hand. He flinched his own until his eyes flickered down to where our fingertips were barely in each other's space. Carefully, he slid his fingers over mine, until he took my whole hand. His thumb grazed my knuckles. He seemed to be in thought before looking up at me, a weak smile resurfacing. "You can be whoever you want. I'll still be friends with all of you," I finally said. His smile grew.


End file.
